So I finally got unlimited text and internet for my cell phone! Then last night I got to actually use it by sending tweets and status updates to Facebook on a live story that was happening. I got to experience what it was like to be a “news reporter” in a small way.
In the past I had written about how great the Chaveirim are, now I would like to write about how great the Shomrim are!
Last night at around 8:00 I was going to go driving with my mother, since I hadn’t practiced for a whole week already, and my next driving lesson is scheduled for September 7th. But then as I went outside I saw a car parked in front of my house with the motor running, the radio on, the keys in the ignition, and a cell phone in the car. I didn’t know whose car it was, so I called over my mother to check it out to see if she knew whose car it was.
My mother didn’t recognize the car, but thought it might belong to a neighbor, so she went to the neighbors house to ask. But then when she opened the screen door to ring the bell, she saw that the storm door was wide open, the house was dark. She called out to ask if anyone was home, and no one answered. So she then called that neighbors cell phone and it went to voice mail.
Then I saw my father coming home from shul, so I showed him the car. He didn’t recognize it either. It had already been 20 minutes and no one came to the car. So my father decided to call shomrim. Within minutes a shomrim guy came and asked us what happened. Two minutes after he came, a person came and claimed the car, he just opened the door and took off. We gave the shomrim the license plate number just in case. Then the next minute another shomrim car pulled up, and then another, a total of 6 guys came to see what the story is.
So now there was the house to deal with, they went in to the house, checked the upstairs, basement and first floor and said there was no forced entry and nothing was messed up, so what probably happened was that the lady living there left her house and closed the door, but it wasn’t closed all the way, so the wind pushed it open.
So the whole thing ended up being no major story, it was still a memorable experience for a few reasons. One being I got to use my unlimited texting, and sent updates to twitter and Facebook as new information was enfolding, and it was a really cool experience. Second the amazing response of the Shomrim, that they came one after another minutes after we called, and they were so nice, and said if we see anything again we shouldn’t hesitate to call. These are volunteers, and they aren’t complaining about coming with nothing doing.
21 comments:
What's their phone number, just in case? I have 4 Hatzolah numbers but 0 Shomrim...
Good Question, I don't even know the number.
I googled and found it: <span><span>(718) 338-9453</span></span>
Interesting story, I imagine it must have been interesting to be like a reporter. Also, B'H for the nice volunteers in the area
I remember going with a friend to a public storage place to help her with something. The hallway inside is dark with just a little light. I thought to myself, this would make a great scene for a story. And so I took out my phone and shot a video of walking through the dark hall.
strange how I'm always approving your comments, that it doesn't save you as a user it recognizes.
Anyways, Thanks, yea it was interesting, and we are greatful!
that is cool, great idea to take a video, I didn't think of that one, would of been more interesting to show the car...next time.
You are just an absolute delight!
Thank you so much for your contribution to my blog! What a crazy night you must've had.
Oh, and btw:
Military marriages work, believe it or not. Some people will get married so they don't have to live in the barracks (which is comparable to living in a co-ed dorm, except the girls live on either the first or top floors). You're not always deployed and you can live a relatively normal life depending on what you're job is. For example, if you're in administration like myself, you work (usually) 730-430 with an hour and a half break for lunch so you can go work out and eat and come back. They pay you money (called BAH - basic allowance for housing) for rent and for food (called BAS - basic allownace for subsistance) depending on how many dependents you have. After you have two children, though, they don't give you any more money than what they already give you once you got to baby number 2. But its' not like you're constantly playing "bang bang shoot 'em up", most of the time you work your job, go home and see your family. You can either live on base where they have houses and apartments, or you can live off base "out in town" as they call it, with your spouse and children. It's a pretty good set up, you just have to find someone who is willing to deal with the fact that momma/poppa has to go away for 7 months at a time every few years and that they'll be back soon. It can be tough on children, I'm sure, but it's a hazard of the job. I actually have a very good friend who grew up a Marine-brat and has learned to develop a personality where she adjusts to new environments very easily - probably from moving every 3 years for most of her childhood.
continued...ha ha...
Deployments can make it rough, granted, but troops willl get what they call "special duty pay" and "hazard pay". If I went on a ship and deployed to like, Thailand, or Japan or Australia, I would get special duty pay, but not hazard pay. Why? Because I'm not in a combat zone. If I go to afghanistan, iraq, etc, then that extra income will come in. I want to finish college first before I deploy (which will be in 2 years) and then would like to come back and go on active duty. I'm not married, so it's really easy for me to enjoy the military life.
My chaplain is a rabbi, is married and has a few children. He's been down in the dumps of Iraq with troops doing what chaplains do and he is trained on an M16 just like everybody else. I look up to him alot because he is a religious man but is also a badass (hence what I was talking about on my post "my rabbi is a badass").
Oh, and yes, I curse. Very often. It's just part of my vocabulary. I'm a nice girl but I have such a terrible sense of humor that it can sometimes overshadow the fact that I have a huge heart and overall love people - except for the a-holes (I'm only censoring because I like you!).
Your welcome, it's fun reading and commenting on your blog :)
I wasn't sure if that comment went through, because it gave me some error page, but i guess you got it based on your response. Thanks for explaining it to me in such depth!
That's great they accomodate for married people. So I'm guessing they pay you well there, if they pay for housing and food on top of a salary. Do you also have a different tax structure? no tax at all maybe?
Right, that's another thing to remember, whenever I think of the army or marines, I think of shooting and action, but there's other civil work there too.
I wonder if it's save to have a house on base with a family. ahh 7 months can be a long time, but I guess with modern communication you can still keep in touch.
Well that's good that people can adjust to it. Good luck!
That's very interesting, so they do give different pay based on levels of "risk". I haven't realized there was so much to it, where there's "deployment", "active duty" and other stuff. So now I guess your more on a standard level now, with training and stuff. But then what are you majoring in college? something milatary related? Or it's for after you retire from the marines?
O, I hadn't realized what a chaplain was, I thought it was some religeous leader, but didn't realize it was a person that was part of the troops.
Yea, I read that post, but I don't get what that means, is it a good thing or bad thing?
I know you are a nice girl, I can tell from your writing!
aww that's so sweet of you to censor for me! I feel honored! :)
Goodness, girl, you are sheltered. :-p
Imagine a man who can beat anybody up, outwit someone with a single witty line and still be able to make it home for dinner? That's a badass...or something along those lines. It's a very good thing to be considered one of those.
lol, I've heard the term before, just never been able to figure it out!
ahh I didn't know it was a good thing, I sorta get it now.
Now I have to re-read what you wrote about your Rabbi... Now I get it. Thanks for explaining again!
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
i have a real tayva for an iphone, but i've resisted it so far because the data/text plan is too expensive.
in this situation i'm not sure why you called shomrim. 911 would probably have been more prudent?
"Second the amazing response of the Shomrim, that they came one after another minutes after we called, and they were so nice, and said if we see anything again we shouldn’t hesitate to call. These are volunteers, and they aren’t complaining about coming with nothing doing."
yes, this type of dedication (call it mesirat nefesh if you will) is very admirable. same with hatzalah, which we've called a few time, including in the middle of the night. but truth be told, i'm not convinced that shomrim isn't a waste of money. (i've heard questions raised about hatzalah's need as well.)
Recent blog:=- Mamzer of the Month: Jewish Fatah Member
yea, the reason I actually have a data plan now is because my brother decided to get a palm pre, and we have a family plan, so instead of paying 70 dollars a month for just his phone to get 450 minutes and data plan, he upgraded the whole family and is paying my father the difference between the old bill and new bill which comes out to 30 dollars, so it's cheaper for him this way.
But yes, it is expensive, when I found out that iphone users had to pay a per month data plan fee it sounded like a lot and I was surprised that so many people have an iphone.
We've called the cops before about things, and they don't have as good service. Seriously it takes them an hour to get there, and then they just wait in the car and don't come to the "scene" and ask you to fill out reports and then they go away. Shomrim has a much better response rate, though this was the first time I've ever "witnessed" their help.
About it being a waste of money, I don't think so. I've seen the difference between the two, of Hatzallah's and ambulance, and even non Jews know it, and prefer to call Hatzallah. But yea, in order for them to exist they need our help with donations and stuff.
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
i called 911 only once, when i was mugged. they were there in a matter of minutes. my impression is that the stories of cops taking an hour to comes are generally in non-emergency situations (e.g., a car is broken into or a loud party next door). it is frustrating, but it really doesn't matter whether they come in 5 minutes or 5 hours. the shomrim might be able to come in 5 minutes, which is reassuring, but they can't do anything in these situations in any case. i.e., a waste of $
as far as hatzalah, my understanding is that it was started because of slow response rates from EMS. but ems response rates have improved dramatically over the years. and while hatzalah is fine for run-of-the-mill stuff, one hatzalah member told me that for more serious emergencies, you can't compare the experience of a full-time ems medic with an accountant who volunteers 2 nights a week.
the point is that there are plenty of oppotunities for us to do chesed. we shouldn't duplicate services that already exist, thereby wasting an ever shrinking pool of communal funds.
Recent blog:=- Mamzer of the Month: Jewish Fatah Member
that was me
Recent blog:=- Mamzer of the Month: Jewish Fatah Member
Interesting way of looking at it, I can understand what your saying. It could seem to be a duplicate, and maybe your right the ambulances are more professional, I dunno.
I would imagine every organization you can think of, "America" already has, except for the support of Kollel people, so maybe more money should be spent on them? I know barely anyone reading this will agree with that. I just had to throw it in there. ;)
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
yea, I was able to tell from your feed!
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
Regarding 911 and piggies, was in 2 incidents, 2 weeks in a row. For a few months our dojo was in that place on M, next to the bank, the "kids at/after risk" for Jews. Twice, piggies come in at like 11AM. What happened? Silent alarm went off. And when did it go off? Like 7AM. So they made sure the burglars, in case they had guns, had enough time to clean out the place and leave before showing up.
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piggies?
I remember you telling this story before regarding something else, I forgot.
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
JS, I think that reason it didn't recognize me is because I didn't sign in with blogger, I clicked the option 'My other site'
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could be, but once you sign in once with that site, and I approve you as a user, it should keep you in the database.
Recent blog:=- Kudos To The Shomrim
Guest, I don't know where u live or if anyone will even check back here but where I live- shomrim do take care of things. And if not for Hatzalah, I wouldn't have a father anymore. careful of what u say- those hatzolah ppl are using our well earned money to take good care of us. Be grateful if u never need them...
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